


A Few Seconds Difference

by Nike



Series: Big Heroes [1]
Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: AU, Alive!Tadashi, Alternate Universe - Canon, Aunt Cass is totally the Team Mom, Beginning of a Series, But different, Family, No Romance, The Movie, and friends as family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-29
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-02-27 09:54:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2688488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nike/pseuds/Nike
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Hear that?  That's my heartbeat.  And as long as my heart's beating, I'm going to be there for you, even if it means following you into something dangerous.  Big brother's prerogative.  Got it?"<br/>----<br/>Because Tadashi would make an awesome superhero.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The last thing I need is another project eating at my brain, but here we go. I'm going to try updating this on Fridays.
> 
> This is the first in what is starting to look like a series. This one's going to be a bit short, because I'm not going to write the movie scenes that didn't really change. Assume if I didn't go into detail that it's the same. As it is, I'm borrowing heavily from the movie for this one so if you recognize anything, like certain dialogue, it's either directly from the movie or a paraphrase and I don't own it.
> 
> Happy reading. :)

**A Few Seconds Difference**

The San Fransokyo Institute of Technology's Exposition Hall was on fire. Hiro's thoughts raced once he became aware of that fact even as he ran towards the doors. Amidst worry for the people still inside, although it had been emptying rapidly when they'd left not ten minutes earlier, there was a sense of loss for his microbots, which were no doubt going up in flames, and an angry thought at whoever's project had been so ill-designed as to cause the fire to begin with. 

Tadashi was running as well. Hiro wasn't slow, but Tadashi had longer legs, so he'd already paused by the woman who'd stopped to cough once outside by the time Hiro caught up.

"Is everyone out?" Tadashi was asking.

"Professor Callaghan's still inside," the woman replied. Oh no. Hiro recognized the expression on his stupid older brother's face. When, sure enough, Tadashi turned to enter the building, Hiro grabbed him and dug in his heels.

"Tadashi! Are you crazy?! You don't run _into_ the burning building!"

"Someone needs to help," Tadashi argued and thank god he was taking the time to argue, because he could out-muscle Hiro's skinny little boy arms. Hiro was so looking forward to growing out of this skinny little body.

"Yeah, the firefighters! Come on, Tadashi! They're trained for this! You're not!"

"But they're not here, and I am," Tadashi replied. And damn him for being so resolute because Hiro faltered in the face of it. His grip on Tadashi loosened. He'd forever hate himself for that, because Tadashi took the loosening of his grip as permission, shrugged free, and ran for the doors.

"Tadashi!" Hiro shouted, fear lighting his nerves as he saw his brother silhouetted by the fire burning inside the building. Then the explosion hit. There was a frantic nanosecond as Hiro realized he _couldn't see Tadashi_ before the shock wave sent him flying off his feet and tumbling through the air, only to hit the ground several feet back.

"TADASHI!" Hiro shrieked as soon as he found his breath again. Oh god, no. A moan from behind startled Hiro because he thought everyone else had been smart enough to leave the area. A quick look over his shoulder was followed by him scrambling, not quite on his knees but not actually upright, over to the all too familiar body even as it moaned again.

"Oh god, please. Please, Tadashi. Please. I'm sorry I didn't stop you. Just don't die on me. Please. Tadashi-"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"You can see him now," the nurse stated softly. Aunt Cass made an undefinable noise even as she grasped Hiro's arm. She would've dragged him to the room the nurse was leading them to if Hiro wasn't half dragging her at the same time. Then they were there and Hiro felt like he couldn't breathe.

"Hey. There you are," Tadashi stated sleepily from the bed. He was heavily bandaged, had an IV in his right arm and his left was covered from shoulder to wrist in a huge cast that was not only bent at a ninety degree angle at the elbow, but also wired to keep Tadashi from moving it around while in bed.

"You okay?" Tadashi asked, obviously focusing on Hiro's bandages.

"A little banged up. Nothing like you, though. You were closer to the explosion and it threw you farther. They say you completely shattered your arm. They had to reconstruct it and pin and plaster it in place," Hiro said a little shakily. 

"You're going to be setting off all kinds of metal detectors now," Aunt Cass said with a small smile as she tried to find the bright side of the situation. She was amazing like that, Hiro knew. Unless she was angry. Then her rants were epic, if random. Hiro loved hearing them on the occasions they weren't aimed at him. She was a great mom, even if she'd never claimed the title.

"Well, that'll be interesting," Tadashi said, favoring their aunt with a smile.

"Ma'am? I have some forms I need you to fill out," a different nurse told Aunt Cass, and who the hell dragged family away when they finally got to visit? Couldn't they have had her fill the forms out earlier while they were stuck in the waiting room while Tadashi was undergoing surgery?

"Alright. Lead the way. Stay here, boys. I'll be back."

"Okay, Aunt Cass. And don't worry about shorty here, I'll keep an eye on him," Tadashi replied with a smile. How could he smile like that, Hiro wondered, when he'd come so close to dying? Hiro's fists clenched, remembering the feel of Tadashi slipping out of his grip.

"Hey, why so glum?"

Startled, Hiro took a deep breath and let his fists unclench. And Hiro knew he probably shouldn't say what had just been on his mind, but it was what was really bothering him and Tadashi would ferret it out eventually anyway, and Hiro would feel guilty for making him do so while Tadashi was stuck in a hospital bed. So he told the truth.

"I... I couldn't stop you and now look at you! You're in the hospital and you won't be able to use that arm for weeks, if not months!" Hiro said, angry at himself for his inability to stop Tadashi - for the way his grip had loosened for that single moment - and even more so for the tears he could feel stinging his eyes.

"Whoa! Hey, no! Me being in the hospital is not your fault, Hiro!"

"But if I'd managed to stop you completely, you wouldn't be hurt!" Hiro argued back.

"And if you hadn't stopped me at all, I'd be dead," Tadashi replied bluntly. 

"Don't say that!" Hiro wailed.

"It's true, though," Tadashi continued calmly. "It doesn't take a trained firefighter to realize that there's no way I could have gotten to Professor Callaghan in time. If I'd gone in like I'd wanted, I'd just be another name on the list of causalities. Me being alive is because of you, Hiro. Me being in the hospital is me paying the price for my stubbornness." 

"Ahem." Both boys turned to see Aunt Cass standing in the doorway holding a clipboard filled with paper.

"If you two are quite done trying to claim the blame," Aunt Cass interjected, "The nurse told me Tadashi can probably come home the day after tomorrow. They want to keep you for a bit because you just got out of surgery. Afterwards, you'll have to come back for check ups and probably physical therapy after the cast is off."

"Really? Can't I have Baymax do that? I'm pretty certain he's fully qualified."

"You are not using your injury to test your prototype robotic nurse," Aunt Cass stated firmly.

"Yes, Aunt Cass," Tadashi replied glumly.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The day Tadashi was allowed to come home, Aunt Cass threw a little party and even allowed Tadashi to invite his - and increasingly, Hiro's - friends. Tadashi, his cast in a supportive sling, was sat at the head of the table so no one could accidentally bump his injuries, which included badly bruised legs in addition to his broken arm. Hiro was sat to his right and everyone else had left an empty space to his left for Aunt Cass as they gathered happily at the table.

"Wait until you try my wings. They'll melt your lips off," Aunt Cass was bragging as she shook the wings in a bowl in order to coat them with her special sauce.

"Yes! I can't wait!" Fred crowed. "Wouldn't melting be an awesome superpower?"

"Only if you could make yourself solid again," Gogo pointed out.

"Ah, good point. Hey, Honey Lemon, can you make me do that?"

"And keep you alive? No," Honey Lemon responded with a rather dismayed tone.

"Oh. Wasabi?"

"Don't even think about it," Wasabi replied even as he arranged carrot and celery sticks in precise patterns on his plate.

"Tadashi?"

"Sorry, Fred. Robotics doesn't tend towards melting people. And even then, I don't know how much I'm going to be able to do in the lab until this heals," Tadashi replied with a smile even as he gestured at his arm.

"Right. Sorry, dude. Little dude? You got any ideas?"

"Huh?" Hiro startled out of staring at Tadashi. Tadashi frowned slightly at the sight.

"He wants to know if you can give him the superpower to melt and reform," Gogo replied with a smack of her gum.

"Oh. No. Sorry, Fred."

"No problem, little dude. Now how about some wings! If they're as good as Ms. C claims, maybe they'll give me superpowers!"

For the rest of the meal, Tadashi was aware of Hiro staring every time Tadashi struggled with something, and he struggled with a lot of things. Who knew he'd used his non-dominant arm so much? As it was, he wasn't certain whether or not to be embarrassed when Aunt Cass had to wipe the sauce off his chin for him because his good hand was just as messy. And wings weren't the easiest things to eat one-handed. At least it was finger food and Tadashi didn't have to figure out how to cut things with only one hand in front of his friends.

The movie they decided to watch distracted everyone for a time, but the staring returned once the others were gone and Aunt Cass had sent them up to their room for the night. It was probably Tadashi struggling to change his clothes that had prompted the new bout.

"Hey," Tadashi called to Hiro, hoping to break the stare. "A little hand here?"

"Oh," Hiro said as he startled before hopping off his bed. "Right."

It was much easier with an extra pair of hands helping him maneuver. And Tadashi refused to feel embarrassed because it was Hiro helping him and Tadashi still remembered helping to change Hiro's diapers.

"Hey. What's wrong?" Tadashi asked once they were bedded down and Hiro had started staring again.

"Huh. Oh, nothing. Just thinking."

Tadashi thought about following up and asking what Hiro was thinking about, but he had a memory, one he wasn't even sure was a memory because of how dazed he'd been after the explosion and how fast he'd been put under by the EMTs who'd arrived soon after. In the memory, he was in pain and staring up at Hiro, who was bruised and bleeding and crying as he begged Tadashi to be alright. It shook him to the core, that memory and, if it was true, well... Tadashi was willing to give Hiro some space if that's what he really wanted.

The next few days, it was like Hiro was avoiding Tadashi. Tadashi wasn't sure how to feel. It meant Hiro wasn't staring at him any more, but it was because Hiro wasn't there to stare. It kind of hurt, having his little brother avoid him. As it was, Tadashi had started regularly checking on the GPS he'd stuck in Hiro's sneakers just to make sure Hiro wasn't running off bot fighting. But he was still hanging around the house, in the garage or their room, mostly.

When Hiro started spending most of his free time in the garage, Tadashi thought about speaking up but, between helping Aunt Cass, doctor's visits, and making sure Baymax's chip was up-to-date, he never seemed to find the time. When it was less than a week before college classes were due to start back up and Hiro still hadn't registered for any classes, that's when Tadashi decided to get involved.

"Hey, I thought you were really excited about winning this," Tadashi stated as he strode boldly into the garage, holding the scholarship certificate Hiro had won.

"Tadashi? Hi!" Hiro chirped a little too cheerfully as he quickly tried to close the privacy screen he'd set up and hide what remained visible with his own body.

"Hi," Tadashi replied slowly, suspicious, before asking, "Classes start in less than a week. When were you planning on registering?" He wished he could properly fold his arms so he'd look a little more intimidating.

"What? Really? I didn't realize," Hiro said, sounding truly surprised. He then grabbed Tadashi's good arm and tried to lead him out of the garage. "We'll have to go and register right away! If you go get your moped, I'll just grab the envelope and we can go."

"You mean this envelope?" Tadashi asked as he broke free from Hiro's hold, waving the paper he was holding. "And I can't drive the moped with a broken arm. What are you doing in here, anyway?"

"Wait! Tadashi! It's not finished yet!" Hiro shouted, trying to prevent his older and larger brother from peeking behind the privacy screen. But Tadashi, even with a busted arm, was stronger than Hiro and easily managed to get past his brother.

"Is that... an exoskeleton?"

"Uh, yeah. I was trying to modify the extra neurotransmitter we made for the microbots so it would move the exoskeleton. Then, even if you couldn't move at all, it wouldn't matter because you could just think it and the exoskeleton would move for you. Except I keep running into some sort of weird interference and it's slowing me down."

"If... _when_ you get this to work, Hiro, it's going to help a lot of people," Tadashi stated, feeling so very proud of his little brother.

"Even you?" Hiro asked hopefully. Ah. Suddenly the staring earlier made a lot more sense.

"Me? It's just a broken arm. I'm not that lame, Hiro."

"Oh, yes, you are. You're the lamest big brother ever," Hiro teased. And really, Tadashi knew he'd walked right into that one, but still...

"Come here, you little-"

"Ack! No! Leave the hair alone! Ah! Tadashi~i!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

_A Few Months Later - San Fransokyo Docks_

"Hello, Tadashi," Baymax greeted in his usual calm tone while Hiro, standing beside him, looked about ready to hyperventilate until Tadashi stepped out of the blinding headlights.

"You! What are you doing here?" Hiro demanded.

"What am _I_ doing here? _I_ saw my little brother sneaking out of the house with _my_ robot dressed in armor and wondered what the heck they were up to. And since I can't fit you, me, and Baymax on my moped, I called the guys and asked for a ride," Tadashi replied, gesturing with his head back to where their friends were piling out of Wasabi's car. "Now, maybe you won't mind telling me why _you_ are here?"

"Yeah, of course! On the way back, because we should leave," Hiro agreed far too readily as he grabbed Tadashi's good arm and tried to lead him back to the car. Except the others had gotten out of the car by now and joined them.

"There you are, little dude!"

"You worried us, Hiro," Honey Lemon scolded gently even as Wasabi nodded in agreement.

"Uh, we should leave."

"Why is Baymax wearing carbon fiber underwear?" Gogo asked as she popped a bubble of gum.

"No, we really need to leave," Hiro insisted.

"What's going on, Hiro?" Tadashi demanded, folding his arms, silently grateful that he could. The cast had come off eventually, even if physical therapy continued to be a pain. Then he paled as a freaking _shipping container_ was _hurled_ at them. Everyone scrambled to get out of the way except for Wasabi, who curled up and screamed like, well, like a girl, although Tadashi was never saying that around Gogo. Thankfully, Baymax caught the container and set it down right before a wave of microbots carried a creepy guy in a kabuki mask into view.

"Baymax-" Hiro started but Tadashi beat him.

"Car! Now!" he ordered even as he grabbed his stupid little brother and hauled his scrawny ass to the vehicle as fast as he could. He was in the middle of the back seat, Hiro on his lap and the belt buckle stretched around them both within seconds. Fred and Honey Lemon slid in on either side of them even as Hiro protested, "Oh, come on! Baymax can take this guy!"

Tadashi didn't bother dignifying that with a response because, while the microbots were all Hiro's idea, Tadashi had helped make and test them and thus had a pretty damn good idea of what they were capable of. And because they weren't his idea, he held them more in awe than Hiro did, which meant Tadashi had a much better idea of how dangerous they could be in the wrong hands. And scary mask guy? Definitely the _wrong hands_.

Sure enough, as soon as everyone was in the car and buckled, Baymax came flying through the air and landed heavily on the car's roof with a mildly uttered, "Oh no." Wasabi hit the gas soon after and then began the chase.

"We're being attacked by a supervillain, people! Isn't that cool? I mean, it's scary, of course, what with him trying to kill us, but cool!" Fred enthused, causing Honey, Hiro, and Tadashi to all give him looks. Gogo may have as well, but Tadashi had to look away from her to give Fred his look and Wasabi was too busy driving.

"Why would you say that? We don't know that he's trying to kill us," Honey argued for the sake of being fair. Then there was a screech of metal and everyone was tossed about a bit as Wasabi had to jerk the car about to avoid getting hit by the wreckage that was being thrown at them.

"He's trying to kill us!" Honey shrieked in alarm.

Then they were off the docks and on the streets and it looked like they might have a head start if Wasabi kept going which is, of course, when he stopped at a red light.

"What are you doing?!"

"It's red!"

"There are no red lights in a car chase!"

Tadashi, while he was normally a big fan of Wasabi's safe driving, was currently in Gogo's camp. There was a time for safe driving, and during a chase was not it, especially not when you were the ones being chased. Gogo thankfully took over soon after, although Tadashi ended up making a mental note to never, ever let her drive him or Hiro outside of a chase scene. As it was, he had to stop his stupid little brother from trying to undo the seat belt and climb into the front.

"Aw, come on, Tadashi! Wouldn't I be safer buckled into my own seat?"

Before Tadashi could even think of a reply, Baymax, up on the roof, stated, "It is a proven statistic that being buckled in the back seat of a moving vehicle is the safest position, especially for shorter individuals."

"You heard him," Tadashi stated with a slow grin.

Hiro shot a betrayed look at the dented car roof. The point became moot a few minutes later anyway as the car ended up in the bay.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"If I hadn't just survived a car chase with a supervillain, this would be the weirdest thing I've seen tonight. But I did, so it's not and that's just sad," Wasabi stated as everyone stared at Fred's room. Well, rooms, actually. Who knew Fred was rich? Not Hiro and obviously not anyone else judging by the reactions. Although, Hiro reasoned, he should've expected something like this the moment he'd learned the fanboy was loaded. The others seemed to realize that too, a little too quickly for Hiro's taste because he was now in the unenviable situation of having to _explain_.

"Alright, Hiro, what the heck is going on?" Tadashi demanded, folding his arms. Hiro hated when he did that - it was like his brother was trying to purposely look bigger - even if he was glad the injured arm was doing good enough to do it again.

"I found that microbot you got back from Krei moving in my jacket pocket and put it in a petri dish because I thought it was broken. Later, when I was messing with the neurotransmitter, I thought maybe whatever was causing the frequency disturbance might be what was making it act weird, so I moved it down to the garage. Then a few days ago I stubbed my toe and, well, Aunt Cass made you move Baymax to the garage when you're not home."

"You said 'ow', didn't you?" Tadashi stated with a look of understanding.

"Uh, yeah. Heh. Anyway, he insisted on scanning me and telling me I'm apparently suffering from puberty and mood swings," Hiro continued, rolling his eyes at this part, "and generally being a nuisance until he noticed the microbot. I told him it was broken and what would make me happy would be fixing it. He offered... I don't even really remember what he offered, beyond his help and I said 'yep' without even thinking about it and the next thing I know, he'd wandered off with the microbot! 

"I knew you'd kill me if I didn't find him and bring him back, so I followed him but didn't manage to catch up until he'd stopped outside this old warehouse. I tried telling him again that the microbot was broken, but he insisted it wanted to go inside and when I tried turning away, I saw he was right. The microbot kept going in the same direction, towards the warehouse. So we sneaked in through a window. That's when I found out that guy in the mask stole my microbots and was making more. He's probably the one who set the fire."

The one who was responsible for Tadashi having been so badly hurt. Hiro clenched his fists at the thought but he took a deep breath and forced himself to relax and continue on.

"We got out of there once he started coming after us. I went straight to the police, but they didn't believe me! So I took matters into my own hands."

"Which included putting armor on a nursing bot?" Gogo asked, making her gum crack.

"I know karate," Baymax offered.

"I, uh, gave him a second chip. So he could fight."

"Hiro, why didn't you tell me?" Tadashi asked, looking disappointed. 

Hiro hated having put that look on his brother's face, but the fire had made something clear he'd never really thought about before then. For the longest time, he'd viewed his big brother as something invincible. But the fire had brought home that Tadashi was human and fragile and all too easy to hurt. Too easy to _kill_. And Hiro had known, deep down, that what he was doing was dangerous and hadn't wanted to put Tadashi into that same danger. What if he got hurt again? But it didn't look like keeping him out of this was going to be something Hiro could do any longer. 

"I... you were busy and I... I didn't want you to get hurt," he admitted, looking down at his feet as he scuffed a shoe against the carpet.

"Oh, Hiro," Honey Lemon whispered even as Tadashi took a deep breath before striding forward and pressing Hiro's head against his chest.

"Hear that? That's my heartbeat. And as long as my heart's beating, I'm going to be there for you, even if it means following you into something dangerous. Big brother's prerogative. Got it?"

Hiro bit his lip and blinked back the tears that threatened to form even as the sound of Tadashi's heart thundered in the ear that was pressed to his brother's chest.

"Y-yeah. I got it."

"Good. So what was this plan your big brain came up with?"

"Well, I was going to have Baymax fight his way to the guy and take off the mask. It has to be hiding the neurotransmitter, you know? Except Baymax doesn't seem able to fight without some direction, which means I might have to get closer."

"Closer?" Honey Lemon exclaimed even as Wasabi added, "Not alone, you're not."

"How else are we supposed to get the guy's mask off?" Hiro asked.

"There has to be another way. I mean, what was he even doing at the docks?" Tadashi insisted, pacing the room even as he rubbed his arms.

"Oh, yeah!" Hiro said, snapping his fingers before striding over to the table and snatching up a pencil and a piece of paper before sitting to try and draw that symbol he'd seen earlier. Baymax waddled after him.

"Your body temperature is still lower than ideal. Would you like me to warm you?"

"Yeah, sure," Hiro agreed absentmindedly. He paused in his drawing when Baymax leaned over and around him in a comfortably warm hug before shrugging and continuing on. He was vaguely aware of the others draping themselves against Baymax when he heard Fred murmur, "It's like spooning a warm marshmallow."

"What're you drawing, Hiro?" Honey Lemon asked. Hiro held up the paper so the others could have a better chance at seeing it from around Baymax's bulk.

"Any of you guys know what this means? It was on a container I saw the guy moving with the microbots."

After much shuffling around, the following chorus was all negative, making Hiro frown.

"Look, whatever's going on, we'll put a stop to this," Tadashi said as he took Hiro's shoulders in his hands. "Perhaps if we take this to the police-"

"And what?" Hiro interrupted. "They didn't believe me earlier and even if they do now, what're they going to be able to do against that guy? We'd be better off sending Baymax after him again."

"Yeah! We're with you, Hiro!" Fred stated with his usual enthusiasm.

And maybe it was the room or maybe he had been spending way too much time with Fred in general, but Hiro got an idea.

"You know, I think if we miniaturized your work at the lab and faced him together, we might be able to stop him," he insisted, looking at the poster in particular that had caught his attention. The others turned and looked at it as well.

"It will take more than just the police to stop that guy, what with those microbots," Gogo said.

"It will take precision, but we might be able to do it," Wasabi added.

"Well, working together is a good idea," Honey Lemon conceded.

"Of course it is! It's a great idea! What do you think, Tadashi?" Fred asked as they stared at the poster and considered becoming actual, honest-to-god superheroes.

"I think," Tadashi said, sounding resigned, "that we're about to prove that old adage that geniuses have no common sense." His friends and brother groaned at him.

"Aw, come on! Where's your sense of adventure?" Fred demanded to know.

"At the bottom of San Fransokyo Bay with Wasabi's car," Tadashi deadpanned. Then Hiro grabbed his arm and gave Tadashi his best puppy eyes.

"Please, onii~san!" Hiro wheedled. Tadashi ran his hand down his face as he sighed.

"Unbelievable. Alright, I'm in."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you interested in soundtracks, I listened to _Immortals_ from the OST a lot while writing this chapter, but the bit where the point-of-view rapidly shifts was actually very much inspired by _Silent Sparrow_ \- also on the soundtrack - particularly the bit about three minutes into the song. You might also consider listening to _The Streets of San Fransokyo_.

**Chapter Two**

"So, since you've commandeered my project for yourself, what did you have planned for me?" Tadashi asked, trying for casual. It was good Hiro was 'borrowing' Baymax for this. Baymax would keep Hiro safe.

"I was thinking turn about is fair play," Hiro replied as he spun the chair he was sitting in around, holding the project he'd been working on up for inspection. It was a white helmet with red and purple detailing. Hiro tilted it so Tadashi could see inside and Tadashi felt his breath catch in his throat as he caught on.

"Is that...?"

"Yeah. I figured out it wasn't working with the exoskeleton because of frequency interference from the one that was stolen, which means that you-"

"Might be able to take control of the microbots," Tadashi finished in unison with Hiro. Hiro nodded, handing over the helmet with the extra neurotransmitter inside.

"Are you... sure you want to give me this?"

"Yeah. I mean, I kinda took Baymax from you and then... I never meant for the microbots to be used this way. Never even thought about it. They need to be in the hands of someone I trust, and I can't think of anyone I trust more than you."

"I'm honored," Tadashi said. Then he realized he was grinning like a sap and tried for an expression that was more 'cool big brother'. He apparently failed because Hiro just smirked at him.

"So...," he tried for casual again, "What else do you have knocking around in that big brain of yours?"

"Oh! Wait until you see what I have planned for Fred! He's gonna love it!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Honestly, Hiro wasn't all that comfortable with Tadashi not having any weapons. What if he got hurt, like with the fire? The fire that bastard thief no doubt started. Hiro forced himself to unclench his fists, taking a deep breath and letting it go as he did. He needed to hold it together right now. Revenge on the bastard for hurting his big brother and stealing his microbots would come. Right now, super suits. 

Hiro had made Tadashi's as safe as he could while maintaining lightness and flexibility. Tadashi needed to be able to dodge, after all, and karate required a certain level of free movement to be effective. Hiro had also quietly taken the others aside one by one and requested they protect Tadashi as he was unarmed until he gained control of the microbots. They'd agreed, something Hiro was thankful to them for. 

Now, where was that schematic he and Honey Lemon had made for her portable chem lab...?

_Meanwhile, the next room over..._

"Did he ask you to protect his brother too?"

"Who? Hiro or Tadashi?"

"Both."

"Brother issues, the both of them."

"But we're going to look after both of them, right?"

"Oh hell, yes."

The four friends exchanged looks and promises. The Hamada brothers weren't going anywhere without them going down first.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Everyone else made it through the gauntlet to Fred's butler, Heathcliff, just fine but now that it was his turn...

"I don't know about this. I mean, I don't have any weapons," Tadashi stated as he baulked at the challenge.

"What're you talking about, White Knight? You are a weapon! Karate your way through!" Fred insisted.

"Well, there is that- Wait. White Knight?"

"Superhero name to protect your secret identity," Fred intoned solemnly.

"What? Oh, no. No."

"Too late! We already agreed," Honey Lemon cheerfully told Tadashi.

"But, I didn't agree. This is my first time even hearing it."

"Give it up, man," Wasabi advised. "With everyone else on board, the day you stop being White Knight will be the day I stop being Wasabi."

Well, that was never happening, Tadashi thought, which meant he was stuck with the nickname. Dang.

"You're up, _White Knight_. Quit stalling," Hiro insisted with a teasing grin.

"Right," Tadashi agreed, letting out a slow breath. He might be rusty on the karate, what with college and then being hospitalized but, if he was going to be there for Hiro, he needed to do this. Then he was running. Over the hedge, dodge the tennis balls, grab the mask and done.

"Alright!"

"Way to go!"

"Nice!"

"I think you have the best time yet," Gogo stated approvingly.

"Well done, sir," Heathcliff offered.

"Thanks, guys, but this isn't going to be anything like the real thing." That made the group a little more solemn.

"No, it's not," Hiro agreed before going on to state, "But we know what to do. Don't worry. We'll be great!"

And while Tadashi was worried, he could only stare in pride at Hiro. While it wasn't how he'd expected, his little brother really was going to change the world.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Baymax's advanced scan picked up Yokai (as Fred had started calling the guy) on one of the islands off the bay, so they were flying out on Baymax. Tadashi had a death grip on Hiro, who was magnetically attached to Baymax's armor, Honey Lemon and Gogo had the wings, while Fred and Wasabi had one arm each. Tadashi felt sorry for Wasabi, what with his fear of heights, but Tadashi wasn't moving from his spot behind Hiro and any other configuration would throw off Baymax's balance.

The landing went well but they were all obviously on edge. At the noise, Tadashi quickly dodged out of the way of any potential attack only to realize...

"Guys! Guys, stop! It's a bird!"

Sure enough, in the middle of the attacks and not only unharmed, but unphased, was a pigeon. Maybe, Tadashi thought, they should've practiced with a target they weren't afraid of hurting. Not that he wanted the pigeon dead but their aim...

"Successful field test," Fred announced as they got over their sheepishness. Tadashi shook his head fondly and didn't voice the thought that this was a bad idea. When Wasabi started moaning about the quarantine signs, Tadashi tried to calm him.

"Relax. We're too close to San Fransokyo for this to be a radioactive quarantine. We would've heard about it if it was. As for a sickness quarantine, well, it looks like the people left awhile ago."

"Then why leave the signs up?"

"Duh. To keep people out. Standard secret base operating procedure," Fred informed them. "The average law-abiding citizen would turn away upon seeing the signs."

There was a pause before Wasabi asked, "Uh, if the average _law-abiding_ citizen would turn away, what does that make us?"

"Above average," Fred replied with blithe ignorance. The others exchanged looks and the rest of their walk was silent. Well, aside from Fred coming up with a ridiculous theme song for them and their supposed origins. Tadashi had long since learned not to ask. Then they reached a huge room with tech marked with the symbol Hiro had seen at the docks. It was pretty obvious something big had gone down. After a quick debate, the team headed up to the command room.

"What happened here?" Honey Lemon asked as she looked in dismay at the strange destroyed machine.

"Let's find out," Hiro said as he started hitting buttons on a control panel, quickly bringing up a multi-camera video feed. What followed was the story of Krei Tech's secret project Silent Sparrow.

Tadashi started when he saw the pilot. She'd been so excited by a summer internship she had refused to tell him about and Tadashi had thought maybe she'd gotten a job when she hadn't come back. Suddenly, Abigail Callaghan's failure to return as a TA made a certain, horrible sense. He could barely stand to watch the video from that point on, knowing something bad had to have happened just from the state of the other room. He'd liked Abigail, too. Hell, she'd bought him his first drink, even though it had technically been illegal for her to do so at the time. He mourned her loss when the return portal went up in flames in the video.

"So it was Krei," Fred stated.

What? Krei? That didn't make sense. Tadashi shook his head and opened his mouth to point that out, but noise and movement made them all freeze and look out the window just in time to see Yokai throw a huge piece of reinforced concrete at them. Baymax saved them, although the resulting dark and dust was alarming.

"Is everyone alright?"

"We're okay, Hiro," Honey Lemon said after coughing.

"Alright, Baymax. Get us out of here."

Suddenly, Tadashi was very glad Hiro had given Baymax a rocket fist. Once out, they could see the microbots dismantling the last piece of the still intact portal.

"What's the plan?" Wasabi asked. 

"Time for Fred!" Fred replied before jumping out. "Super Jump!" The microbots hit him mid-leap. "Super Fall!" Then more microbots smashed Baymax back onto the rubble.

"Baymax!" Hiro cried out, scrambling up to the robot.

"What's the plan?" Wasabi repeated a bit more desperately.

"Get the mask," Gogo replied before moving to harass Yokai. Honey Lemon dropped a chem ball to make a safe landing place and followed.

"No, seriously, _what's the plan_?!"

"Come on," Tadashi told Wasabi, grabbing the taller man by the shoulder and heading for the stairs even as he prayed Hiro would be safe with Baymax. They reached the lower level in time see the girls go after Yokai and get slammed into each other thanks to a combination of Yokai and Honey Lemon's chemical slick. Tadashi winced at the sight.

"Hey! You want a piece of this? Because I've got this! And this!" Wasabi cried out before Yokai could go after Fred or the girls. The microbots attacked and Wasabi held them off.

"Hey, not bad! You want more of this? Oh. You got that," Wasabi said before the microbots holding his legs tossed him into Fred and the girls, knocking them back down. A mass of microbots formed into a block, readying to crush them.

"Now might be a good time to use your neurotransmitter!" Wasabi yelled.

Tadashi reached out mentally towards the microbots, willing them to stop and feeling stupid that there was no better way to describe what he was doing. But the microbots did indeed slow and then stop. Yokai paused and then his stance turned angry. 

The microbots started moving again, this time towards Tadashi, slow at first but gaining momentum. Tadashi tried stopping it but, while he was bleeding off the microbots on the edges, the main bulk was still coming at him, shaping into a curved spike. Then it was coming at him with frightening speed, far too fast to dodge. Tadashi yelped and threw up his arms in a desperate protective gesture even as he ducked and turned his head away. 

There was the sound of metal clashing against metal. Tadashi looked up and let out his breath in one whoosh because the microbots he'd taken from the main mass had formed a protective shield. Then there was another clang as the microbots that weren't under his control hit the shield again before swarming over and around it.

"Oh shit," he breathed, trying to back away. But there was nowhere to run to. He was completely surrounded. In every way, he realized, as the microbots crested like a wave above him, ready to crush him. Then the wave crashed down.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"TADASHI!" Hiro screamed because he'd just gotten Baymax upright and that was his big brother that had just disappeared under the sea of microbots. And all he could think was how Tadashi had been right about this whole idea being stupid. It was stupid to face Yokai on his own turf; it was stupid to be fighting with weapons and suits they'd barely tested; it was stupid not to give Tadashi extra weapons just in case; and it was stupid to have not realized that Tadashi would become the main target once Yokai found out Tadashi could control the microbots too. It was all stupid.

And it made Hiro angry. Angry with the others for letting him talk Tadashi into this, angry at Tadashi for agreeing anyway, angry with Yokai for causing all of this to begin with, but mostly angry with himself because it was his fault Tadashi was... was... No! He wasn't going to think like that because Tadashi had to be alive, even if Hiro couldn't see how he possibly could be, because that had been a lot of metal. No one could survive that much metal crashing down on them. 

The deep breath didn't work. Neither did the next one. His hands were still clenched but it still felt like Tadashi slipping out of his grip at the fire all over again. Tadashi was buried under a tide of metal and probably dead and it was Hiro's fault but it was also Yokai's and Hiro had a way to _make him pay_. 

The world felt eerily calm as Hiro ordered, "Baymax. Destroy him. Take out the man controlling the microbots."

"My programming does not allow me to harm a human being," Baymax protested. Hiro hit the button on Baymax's chest and all but ripped out the green chip - _Tadashi's chip_ \- in response.

"Not any more. Now rip him apart."

"What?"

"No!"

"Baymax, stop!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Apparently the microbots responded to proximity, which was damn lucky for Tadashi as it meant they formed a dome around him. It was claustrophobic as hell, but at least he wasn't being crushed. When he felt Yokai tugging them away, he let them go and straightened up in time to see Hiro yanking a green chip out of Baymax. The implications of that action hit Tadashi like a load of bricks.

"HIRO! STOP!"

Hiro paused, turning to give Tadashi a shocked look that turned happy an instant later. Yokai, however, didn't stop and took advantage. The microbots lashed out. Hiro fell.

"HIRO!"

Tadashi ran, ripping the microbots away from Hiro and shoving them all back even as he placed himself between them and his brother. Suddenly, controlling the microbots was easy. They flexed under his control, going after Yokai but, just as proximity to Tadashi had made them turn towards his will, so they turned to Yokai's. The mass of microbots wavered and changed as they shifted allegiance back and forth time and again each second that passed. And Tadashi realized to his horror that he was losing.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Hiro blinked and tried to shake the daze away as he tried picking himself up off the floor, only to pause and stare in horror at the situation he'd caused. Tadashi was standing between everyone and Yokai and the microbots were twisting and contorting like a massive dying thing as they rose and fell in the air. Everyone else was trying to hold back Baymax and stop him from using his rocket arm. It was when Fred managed to send one shot from Baymax off target that Hiro realized in terror that he hadn't specified _which man that was controlling the microbots_.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Tadashi startled as Baymax's rocket fist hit the microbot wall far too close for comfort before he turned his attention back to microbots because they'd started moving closer far too fast. He slowed them back down but, despite his best efforts, he was still losing ground.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Tadashi, move, before he takes you out!" Wasabi shouted before Baymax knocked him away.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"I can't!" Tadashi couldn't move or he'd lose his already tenuous grip on the microbots. It was all he could do just to keep Yokai from making the microbots hurt the team. At that thought, Tadashi's control on them slipped a little further and the microbots built an impressively disturbing set of spikes and started to push them forward as they crawled closer.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Baymax had the closer target lined up in his sight. All he had to do was release the rocket arm. He shrugged off the others like they were bugs.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It wasn't going to be enough, Tadashi knew. If Baymax running on only fight protocols didn't kill him first, then Yokai would because Tadashi wasn't strong enough to stop the incoming bots. But he had to try, damn it. The microbot spikes grew bigger and more daunting as they came closer, curving around the team as the outer edges moved faster than he could hold them back.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The wings on the rocket arm spread as it readied. The target was locked on.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Tadashi gasped as a spike brushed his fingertips. That one stopped, but the ones going for his face and heart kept coming. The worst part was knowing that he was the only reason they hadn't already rushed forward and impaled his little brother and friends and that, soon, they wouldn't even have that much protection.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Baymax blinked, the red disappearing from his eyes, before looking down at where Hiro had pressed his card slot closed.

"I'm sorry," Hiro said, almost sobbed. "I shouldn't have... I'm sorry."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Tadashi blinked in surprise when Wasabi cut through the spikes before they could impale him. Then Honey Lemon was tossing one of her chemical balls and Fred was setting it on fire, causing a huge explosion even as Gogo grabbed Tadashi and got him out of the way by dint of the sheer force of her speed. Yokai pulled back and fled rather than face the now complete team. Tadashi slumped onto his hands and knees, mental exhaustion taking its toll, even as the masked man, microbots, and stolen portal all disappeared.

"What the hell was that?! No, seriously, what the hell?!" Gogo shouted as she pulled off her helmet. "We agreed to help stop the guy, not kill him! We didn't sign up for this!"

Tadashi forced himself into an upright kneeling position instead of his hands and knees because that was his little brother Gogo was screaming at. Then he blinked in surprise when Hiro, turned to the side and head down and not even facing him, put his hand on Tadashi's chest as if to stop him. Tadashi could see Hiro's lips silently moving and he realized with a start that Hiro was counting his heartbeat.

"Hiro?" Tadashi asked as Gogo paused in her rant.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... it was stupid. I- I thought you were dead and I nearly ended up getting you killed instead."

Tadashi sighed and grabbed his little brother's arm, tugging him closer even as he settled his own body into a seiza position.

"One day, I'm going to die, Hiro," he said. When his little brother started to protest, he spoke over him. "Shut up and listen. I'm going to die one day. We all are. We're not exactly immortals here. And while I certainly pray it won't be any time soon, if I go first, I do not want you becoming a murderer on my behalf. Do you understand?"

"Yeah. It won't happen again. I promise," Hiro stated softly.

"No, it will not. I have changed my programming so that only I may access my data chip vault," Baymax proclaimed.

Tadashi looked over his lapful of little brother and nodded at the robot, saying, "Good job, Baymax."

Hiro flinched and Tadashi frowned even as he wrapped his arms tightly around his brother.

"Hey. I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?" Hiro said, finally turning towards Tadashi in order to give him an incredulous look. Tadashi could see even through the mask that Hiro had been crying.

"I'm disappointed, bonehead, not angry. But you're smart and I know you. You never make the same mistake twice once it's been drilled through your thick skull that it is a mistake," Tadashi stated, tapping a finger against Hiro's forehead.

Hiro shot a quick look at their friends. Wasabi nodded and Fred gave him a small smile and a thumbs up gesture.

"So long as you don't do it again," Gogo agreed, popping her gum.

"Of course he won't. It's Hiro," Honey Lemon said.

"Thanks, guys," Hiro said, ducking his head again only this time in embarrassment judging by the blush Tadashi could make out.

"While I am certain this bonding is excellent for your mental health, Tadashi is showing signs of mental fatigue and I would like to make sure Hiro is not suffering from a concussion," Baymax spoke up.

"Yeah. Good idea," Tadashi agreed as he gently shoved Hiro away so he could stand.

"What are we going to do now that Krei got away?" Fred asked as Baymax scanned Hiro and started asking the standard questions for possible concussion victims.

"That wasn't Krei," Tadashi insisted.

"What? How do you know?"

"Think about it. Why would Krei take Hiro's bots and don a mask in order to steal his own tech? It doesn't make sense," Tadashi pointed out before pausing as a terrible idea struck him. The very idea made him sick to his stomach, but it made far too much sense. He added, "But I can think of someone who would. Where are the videos?"

Everyone followed Tadashi back to the command center with confused looks. Well, confused except for Baymax, who was still asking his questions as he tagged along behind Hiro. Tadashi ignored them in favor of bringing up the multi-camera video feed again and studying the various screens as they played out the tragedy they'd watched before.

"Wait. There."

"What the...? Professor Callaghan was there?"

"Yeah, and I think that's the proof I was looking for. He's Yokai," Tadashi proclaimed grimly now that he had proof Robert Callaghan was aware of Abigail's fate.

"What?!"

"No way!"

"You can't be serious! Why would you even think that?"

"No, no, I'm getting you, Tadashi. Faking your own death is a standard supervillain trait. Never assume the villain's dead until you find the body," said Fred.

"But-"

"As Fred pointed out, no one ever found the Professor's body after the fire. And we assumed the microbots were destroyed in the same fire until Yokai showed up with them. Professor Callaghan would've had the opportunity to take them and even figure out how to mass produce and control them."

"Assuming he survived, and I'm not saying he did, why would he steal Krei's tech?" Gogo asked.

"Her, of course," Tadashi stated, pointing at Abigail.

"The pilot? What about her?" Wasabi asked.

"Oh, that's right. You guys never met her," Tadashi said.

"Wait, you knew the pilot?"

"Yeah. She was my TA in Applied Aerodynamics. Her name's Abigail and she's Professor Callaghan's daughter."

"So that's why. This is a revenge story," Fred stated with sad determination.

"You can't prove this," Gogo pointed out.

"Only way to prove it is taking off the guy's mask," Hiro stated. "And whether he's Callaghan or Krei, we need to ask where he'd go with that tech."

"Oh, that's easy. Same place for both of them. Krei Tech's grand opening for their new facility is this afternoon," Fred stated with a grin. "Krei will be there because it's his company and, if it's not Krei, then that's the perfect time for Yokai to get back at him."

Everyone exchanged looks.

"Are we doing this?" Wasabi asked.

"Hiro has only suffered a minor contusion, but is otherwise alright aside from adolescent mood swings. Everyone else is likewise healthy," Baymax added.

"I say we're doing this," Gogo said, holding out her fist.

"I'm in," Tadashi agreed, holding his out as well.

"Definitely," Honey agreed.

"Couldn't stop me if you tried," Hiro stated with a grin.

"Of course I am!" Fred exclaimed as he added his fist to the growing circle.

"Yep," Wasabi confirmed. Baymax added his fist in last after a confused tilt of his head. Everyone then pulled their fists back while making a noise to mimic an explosion, wiggling their fingers. All except Baymax, who wiggled his fingers and said, "Balalalala."

"Did you teach him that?" Tadashi asked as he nudged Hiro's shoulder with a laugh and a grin. Hiro shrugged and smiled.

"Someone had to."

Then they left. They had a day to save.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty certain I borrowed the idea that Abigail Callaghan was Tadashi's TA without permission. It kinda became head canon and I forgot it wasn't actual canon until I took myself to re-watch the movie. If you're the originator, sorry for borrowing the idea without asking you first. :(
> 
> I have no idea why but when I think of character colors, Tadashi strikes me as a white. So I stuck him in a white superhero suit with Hiro and Baymax's colors as detailing to keep it from being boring. And if anyone wants to draw Tadashi's supersuit, I will love you forever.
> 
> As for his super powers, well, Hiro's the only one of the gang with the type of mind to turn something as squishy as Baymax into a fighter so that combo kind of has to stay, which means Tadashi has to get Hiro's microbots, which honestly impressed me during Hiro's presentation. Imagine what a superhero could do with those things! In fact, I already have a ton of plans which is why I'm certain this is going to end up a series. It also gives a nice rounded feeling, the boys having each other's tech protecting them. Tadashi just has to gain control of them first...


	3. Chapter 3

It was Professor Callaghan. Tadashi was right. He hated when he was right about things like this - hadn't really wanted to believe the worst about his beloved professor - but it had been pretty obvious that Yokai couldn't be Alistair Krei even before he'd shoved the mask up to show Krei his face. Krei being dangled several dozen feet in the air was a pretty big clue, after all.

"Professor Callaghan, stop!"

Callaghan turned and looked at them.

"This isn't the way," Tadashi insisted, wanting his wise, old mentor to return. "This isn't going to bring Abigail back! Do you really think she'd want this?"

"This won't change anything and you know it," Hiro added. "Trust us."

"Listen to them, Robert," Krei begged. "Stop this and I'll give you whatever you want."

"I want my daughter back!" Callaghan snarled before swinging his arm at the team. The team cried out as a wave of microbots hit the roof like a brick. Hiro and Baymax jumped left while Honey Lemon, Gogo, Wasabi, and Fred leapt right and Tadashi...

"Tadashi!" they all shouted. Hiro tried grabbing his brother's reaching hand as the microbots pulled Tadashi off the roof but failed to reach him. Tadashi struggled, trying to control the microbots but the control slipped from him like it had back on the island. Then he was face-to-face - well, mask-to-mask - with Robert Callaghan.

"Give it up," the older man growled. "I'm better at controlling them than you are and, at this proximity, I can reassert my control over any you gain long before it can do you any good."

"You don't have to do this!" Tadashi tried again, even as the microbots pinned his arms.

"Super Jump!" Fred shouted as he leapt down from the roof before attempting to set the microbots on fire. Gogo was hot on his heels, but Callaghan obviously remembered how she'd successfully harassed him earlier and quickly caught her in a sphere of microbots.

"Let my brother go!" Hiro roared as he flew up on Baymax, only for them both to be hit by a wave of microbots. Hiro ended up going through one of the now empty windows and, when Baymax tried going after him, he was knocked back down and pinned.

"Hiro!" Tadashi yelled, renewing his struggle until the microbots holding him tightened.

"Please, stop this while you still can!" Tadashi begged as Callaghan caught Fred with more microbots, boxed in Wasabi between two roof panels, and maneuvered Honey Lemon into trapping herself in one of her chemical bubbles.

"Why are you here, Tadashi?" Callaghan asked. Tadashi froze at the sound of his name. Honey Lemon had specially coated their helmets with a scratch-resistant mirror coat that they could see through when looking through a similar lens, but no one else could.

"Oh, I know it's you. Did you think I wouldn't recognize your tech? You were practically in my office every day while you designed that robot," Callaghan said, gesturing at where he was slowly crushing Baymax. "Why are you here? You're not as fast or strong as the others. You're certainly not as smart as Hiro. You've been little more than an inconvenient distraction."

It hurt hearing his professor say that. Tadashi had tried to be a proper male role model to Hiro after their parents had died, but he hadn't had one himself. Aunt Cass was great, but when Abigail had introduced Tadashi to her famous father, Tadashi had, well, latched on. He'd told Robert Callaghan his fears and insecurities, like about not being good enough or how, while he adored Hiro, his little brother's brilliance made it hard for Tadashi to realize he was smart, too. And now the man he'd looked up to, had risked his life and nearly been killed for, was throwing that trust back in his face.

The microbots holding him shifted. Not much, not before Callaghan reasserted his control, but enough to tell Tadashi that, even this close to Callaghan, he _could_ take control of them, even if only for an instant. The question was, how to make good use of that instant? Could he take control of all the microbots long enough to free the others?

"Hey, guys," Hiro said over their radios and Tadashi thanked god that his brother was okay. "I know how to take out the microbots. But you have to get free, first. Now use those big brains of yours and think of a way out. Look at it from a different angle."

Tadashi nearly snorted at Hiro quoting advice he'd given his little brother once upon a time - didn't only because Callaghan was expecting an answer from him - before he was struck by the realization that it was exactly the advice he needed. Tadashi didn't need to control _all_ of the microbots, just the ones holding him captive.

"I'm here," Tadashi told Callaghan in his coldest tone, "because stopping you is the right thing to do."

Then, with all of the emotions he felt - worry for his friends, fear for his family's safety, and anger at his mentor's complete and utter betrayal - he pushed at the microbots holding him captive. They burst apart like an explosion even as Tadashi threw himself backwards out of Callaghan's fumbling attempt to physically grab him. Microbots moved to intercept him, but the ones under his feet were moving him like a surfboard on the roughest waves, carrying him away to safety. Baymax bursting out from where he'd been pinned with a rocket fist distracted Callaghan long enough for Tadashi to make it to the others, even as Tadashi felt his mouth go dry when he realized exactly how close Hiro had come to being sucked into the portal. Still, he felt a bolt of pride for Baymax and the upgrades Hiro had given him.

"I love that robot!" Alistair Krei enthused loudly from where he was still being held captive and Tadashi felt another bolt of pride, this time for himself for a change because that was his tech wowing Krei. Then Hiro and Baymax were landing beside them and Hiro was taking charge again.

"Okay, guys, new plan. Forget the mask and take out the bots. The portal will suck them up."

"I like this plan!" Wasabi enthused even as Tadashi nodded. Even if he couldn't take control of all of the microbots, he should be able to bleed them off steadily enough to make a difference.

"Good. Honey. Fred. Can you give us some cover?"

"Way ahead of you, Hiro!" Honey Lemon stated with a grin as she held up some blue chem balls even as they ran to avoid getting hit by microbots. "Ready, Freddy?"

"Oh, yeah! Take that!"

The smokescreen was impressive and Tadashi was both thankful for it and irritated because Hiro and Baymax flew up above it, no doubt to distract Callaghan as they were they only flyers. Still, he had a job to do. Time to get to work.

~*~*~*~*~*~

This plan was going to work. It had to work, Hiro thought as Baymax dodged and blocked strike after strike, making sure some microbots ended up heading into the portal each time. More kept coming up out of the smokescreen, not all of which were being controlled by Callaghan.

"Whoa! Gravity's getting weird down here, guys. Hey! We can use this!" he heard Wasabi say over their radios.

"Awesome, Wasabi! Need a lift?"

"Uh."

"Woman up!"

"See my signs?! Now my signs are on fire!"

There was an explosion not long after along with Honey Lemon's cheerful exclamation of, "Now that's a chemical reaction!"

It was working. And just in time, too. Baymax was grabbed by the microbots, but Callaghan had no more left to strike them with.

"Oops. No more microbots," Hiro pointed out with a smirk even as Callaghan glanced down and realized he barely had enough to keep himself in the air. Baymax broke free a second later and headed straight for Callaghan, fist first. Callaghan flinched and then looked back up when the hit he was expecting didn't happen.

"Our programming prevents us from harming a human being," Hiro stated, "but we'll be taking that."

Baymax, instead of punching Callaghan, removed the mask and shattered it. The microbots fell and so did the portal. Callaghan would have too if Baymax hadn't caught him.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It wasn't turning off. Why wasn't the portal turning off?

"How do we turn it off?" Hiro demanded Krei before Tadashi himself could ask.

"You can't! The containment field has been breached! It's going to destroy itself!" Krei shouted over the rush of air and debris being sucked in less than a hundred feet away.

"We need to get out of here! Come on!" Hiro ordered. Everyone started to move, but Tadashi noticed Baymax wasn't following Hiro.

"Baymax! Come on!" Tadashi shouted, aware of Hiro pausing and looking back.

"I can sense signs of life from the portal. It is female. She appears to be in hypersleep."

Tadashi's eyes widened. Abigail was alive? Then he noticed the determined look on Hiro's face as he started heading back towards the portal.

"What are you doing?" Tadashi asked as he caught his brother's arm.

"Someone has to save her and Baymax and I are the only ones who can do it!" Hiro argued.

Tadashi felt his grip slip ever so slightly. Was this growing empty pit in his stomach what Hiro had felt when he'd seen Tadashi run towards the burning exposition hall? The knowledge that this was a bad idea was hammering in his skull, but he logically knew that Hiro was right as well. The only way to save Abigail Callaghan was if Baymax went in and Hiro went with him to direct him. Tadashi's grip tightened again.

"Not without me, you're not."

"But, Tadashi-" Hiro began, looking alarmed. 

"Big brother's prerogative, Hiro. My heart's still beating and that means I'm following you."

A grim look came to Hiro's face, but he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Right. Let's do this."

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was like falling into a Technicolor dream, not unlike when Dorothy landed in Oz. It was beautiful but cold, and there was a weight and substance to it that, while not as hard to move through as water, still felt thicker than air. On the plus side, it didn't look like they had to fight against any weird monsters - and Hiro really had been spending way too much time with Fred if he'd even considered that to be a possibility - but there was tons of Krei Tech debris that could prove dangerous enough.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Tadashi asked in an awed tone.

"That depends. Are you seeing a Mandelbulb?"

"Uh huh."

"Then yeah. Wow," Hiro said as they got closer to the debris. He frowned and told Baymax, "Get ready to dodge. We don't want to get hit by Krei Tech debris."

"Careful, buddy. Don't forget we're on your back," Tadashi admonished when Baymax got too close to what looked like a wall of windows. Baymax adjusted his trajectory accordingly, although there were still a few close calls.

"I have located the patient," Baymax announced once they were past the worst of the Krei Tech debris.

"Bring us in," Hiro ordered. Baymax obeyed, gently grasping the pod as it came within his reach. Hiro wiped away some of the frost that had formed on the window so he could see inside. Abigail Callaghan sat strapped inside, sleeping quietly even as her breath fogged her helmet ever so slightly.

"Don't worry, Abby," Hiro heard Tadashi say, "We'll get you home."

Hiro nodded and climbed atop the pod, Tadashi scrambling after as he didn't have the magnetic attachments to Baymax that Hiro did.

"Ready, Baymax? I'll guide us out. Veer left. Hard right. Over and up. Now hold steady. That's it!"

"Great job," Tadashi said with a proud smile before it faded in alarm. "Hiro, look out!"

A large piece of debris was spinning towards them but Baymax was already moving, wrapping himself protectively around the brothers atop the pod. Then the debris moved past, although it took part of Baymax's armor and nearly Baymax along with it.

"Baymax!" Hiro cried out as he reached for the robot. Tadashi did too, catching the other's hand and pulling the robot close enough for Hiro to grab on to as well.

"My rocket boots are not working," Baymax observed calmly. Which was a problem because, whatever this colorful atmosphere was made out of, it had caused enough friction to slow them down to a bare drifting hover.

"There is one way to get you home. Are you satisfied with your care?" Baymax asked even as he placed his remaining rocket fist to the back of the pod.

"Wait, what?"

"I cannot deactivate until you say you are satisfied with your care," Baymax explained.

"No!" Hiro denied because it was like far too much like Tadashi and the fire, except Baymax was asking for permission first to slip out of Hiro's grip. "We still need you! I'm not leaving you here! I- I'll think of something!"

"There is no time. Are you satisfied with your care?"

"Wait, Baymax. There's another way," Tadashi stated with a fierce grin. Hiro gave his big brother a confused look before glancing at whatever had caught Tadashi's attention. The microbots that had been sucked into the portal were moving.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The portal was growing more unstable, Wasabi noted as he absently counted in his head. He risked a peek over the debris they were pressed against to keep from being sucked in, but there was still no sign of them. Then, right when the portal started to suck itself in, they were there. Hiro and Tadashi were clinging to the top of the pod the pilot had disappeared in on the video and Baymax, with severely damaged armor, was holding his rocket fist to the back of the pod even as a structure of microbots held him in place there.

"Yeah! They made it!" Fred enthused even as the microbots let Baymax go and formed a set of stairs for Hiro and Tadashi. Then Wasabi and the rest of the team were following Fred and giving hugs and back slaps in congratulations. At least, until Krei joined them.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"That is an amazing robot. How much?"

"Whoa! Baymax isn't for sale!" Hiro protested.

"Be realistic. I'm not only offering you a lot of money; I'm being generous enough for you to set the price!"

"He's not for sale," Tadashi said, backing up Hiro.

"This song and dance again, Mr. Hamada?"

"Wait, what?" Hiro asked, looking shocked.

"I heard Callaghan call him Tadashi, and I'm fairly certain that makes you Hiro, especially considering he also mentioned the two of you creating this tech. And I'm fairly certain if I compare the friends with you at the SFIT showcase to your team, I'd find a match. All it would take is a few innocent questions and a quick browse through the SFIT student records, which are so conveniently located on-line."

"Wait, you're threatening our secret identities over this?" Wasabi asked, looking panicked.

"Threatening? I prefer to call it telling the truth to the world."

"You would," Gogo stated darkly.

"So, about this tech...."

"You're not getting it," Tadashi stated bluntly, "and you're not going to tell anyone about who we are."

"So sure of yourself, are we, Mr. Hamada?"

"Very sure. I mean, you wouldn't want the truth of your own misdemeanors told to the world, now would you?"

"What are you saying?" Krei asked with a frown.

"I'm saying that if the fact you tried stealing Hiro's microbots just before Robert Callaghan succeeded got out to, say, a few well-placed people and news agencies, well, that wouldn't sit well with a lot of people, including your investors. And," Tadashi added with a pointed look around them, "I really don't think you can afford that right now."

Alistair Krei blinked and then, to everyone's surprise, smiled.

"You drive a hard bargain, Hamada. Very well. Since you saved my life, your identities and tech are safe. From me, at least. I can guarantee I'm not going to be the only one expressing interest. Be careful. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there."

"We'll be careful," Tadashi stated. Krei nodded, still smiling, before walking away. The police arrived not long after and escorted Callaghan away. The team watched from the rooftop of the San Fransokyo Tribune. Hiro put his hand on Tadashi's arm after a moment. Tadashi smiled at the gesture before grabbing the hand.

"Come here, you," he said as he pulled Hiro into a hug. Hiro chuckled when Fred shouted, "Group hug!" and joined in, followed by the others. They'd done it. They'd saved the day.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Mr. Krei! Can you tell us in your own words what happened?" one of the many reports crowding around shouted.

"It's most unfortunate, but it seems Robert Callaghan faked his own death to steal some experimental tech, including the microbots child prodigy Hiro Hamada had created specifically for the SFIT showcase, all in order to, well, pay me back for some perceived grudge. We're most fortunate no one was killed, although I understand Robert Callaghan came close when the fire he set at SFIT nearly claimed Hiro Hamada's older brother, Tadashi, who was one of Callaghan's own students."

"Are you saying this was all done with stolen technology?"

"I don't know where the portal came from," Krei lied smoothly as he pressed through the throng towards his waiting car, "but Hiro Hamada's work wowed a lot people at the showcase and quite a few of us lamented when we thought the fire had destroyed it." 

"What can you tell us about these 'microbots', Mr. Krei? What are they capable of and what happened to them?"

"Well, it looks like one of the team of strangers who saved me and San Fransokyo took them with him, no doubt to keep anyone else from stealing them. I do hope he plans on offering them back to Hiro. In the meantime, if you want to know more about the tech, I suggest you ask the Hamada brothers," Krei stated before stepping neatly into his car and pulling away from the mess. He'd have to stop by the police station to give his statement, of course, but he'd be telling them much the same story he'd given the press.

Alistair Krei didn't consider himself a bad man. There were certainly worse out in the world. But to be truly successful in business, you had to be more than a little bit ruthless. It was why he'd risked trying to steal the microbot at the SFIT showcase. And Krei could admit, if only to himself, that he'd seriously underestimated Hiro Hamada's guard dog of an older brother. Well, not any more. In fact, he was looking forward to the challenge.

"Your move, Hamada," he murmured in the silence of his car.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It was late by the time Hiro and Tadashi got home from Fred's house. They'd had to figure out where to put the microbots Tadashi was now controlling and had ended up settling for the 'extra' indoor pool, which was drained for the purpose. Then, of course, Fred had insisted on a celebration and since they were still a bit hyped on adrenaline, they'd agreed. When Hiro started to fall asleep, Tadashi declared them done and the brothers and Baymax started off for home.

They skirted by the front lest Aunt Cass see Baymax and went straight to the garage, where Hiro insisted Baymax recharge.

"You've been using a ton of energy and even if we did upgrade your battery along with your armor - reinforced solar panels for the win, by the way - you have to be running low. And one experience with that was enough," Hiro insisted.

"One experience with what?" Tadashi asked with a frown.

"You don't know? I don't know what you did with the coding, but he acts like a drunk when his battery gets low enough."

"Really? Huh. I don't remember putting that in there," Tadashi said thoughtfully even as Baymax, freed from his armor, squeaked his way over to where the charging station had been plugged in.

"I'll have to look at that," Tadashi added as he turned back to the door, hand on Hiro's shoulder to guide him. Both of them jumped when they realized someone was standing there.

"Ack!"

"Ah! Aunt Cass! What're you doing here? I mean, it's not that late, is it?" Hiro added nervously after he screamed.

"Late enough," Aunt Cass replied, her arms folded and a stern expression on her face. "Are either of you hurt?"

"No," the brothers reluctantly admitted in unison.

"Good," she said before grabbing them both by the shoulders and shaking them as she yelled, "What the hell were you two thinking?! Did you think I wouldn't recognize you, even in those weird suits at a distance? I have seen you both _naked_ , misters! Helmets aren't going to fool me! Especially not when you're bringing that robot on TV into my house!"

"You seem... stressed," Baymax offered from his recharge station. "Your neurotransmitters are very odd. You have high levels of serotonin and norepinephrine, indicating you are happy yet also frightened."

"You bet I'm stressed! My boys went out and became heroes! I've never been so frightened in my life! Or so proud," Aunt Cass declared even as she pulled Hiro and Tadashi into a tight hug. "I love you two so much. And if you ever scare me like that again, you'll be grounded until you're thirty!"

"Yes, Aunt Cass," Hiro and Tadashi chorused, although Tadashi added, "Love you too, Aunt Cass."

"Yeah. Love you too," Hiro agreed.

"Well, now that that's settled, let's get inside," Aunt Cass said with tears in her eyes and happy smile on her face. "And bring your robot with you. He'll be safer and easier to hide inside. I don't want to know what will happen if some supervillain gets his hands on your... squishy white robot."

Hiro and Tadashi exchanged looks and smiled before moving to follow Aunt Cass and bring Baymax inside. She really was an awesome mom.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Aunt Cass hummed as she got the café ready for the day, pulling freshly baked donuts from the oven and decorating them before flipping on the lights to the main dining area and moving to unlock the door. Then she noticed the crowd on the sidewalk and poked her head out. She was nearly blinded by camera flashes and shouted questions nearly deafened her. She pulled her head back in, pushed the door shut and locked it before turning to put her back to it, the Closed sign pressing into her back. Then she took a deep breath.

"Boys! We've got company!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Hey there. Whatcha working on?" Hiro asked as he came into the garage. Tadashi looked up and gave Hiro a smile.

"Hey there. I'm repainting them. The black just made them look kind of menacing," Tadashi replied as he gestured at the trash cans full of microbots he'd managed to sneak back from Fred's house.

"I see you're sticking to your theme color," Hiro said as he picked up a white microbot, "but why the random red and purple ones?"

"They're my black sheep. Out of every two hundred microbots, one is red and one is purple. That way I'll be able to estimate how many I have on hand quicker, and even determine things like, does it take more to lift me than it does to lift you or Baymax in comparison to us? You know, the type of things you would've been researching in the lab."

"Nice. And it looks cool, too," Hiro stated as Tadashi made a small tower, putting the red on one edge and the purple on another and the white in the middle. "Now, tell me, did you actually forget about the interview?"

"What?" Tadashi asked, startled.

"You know, the exclusive Aunt Cass scheduled so she could finally open up the café without the reporters camped on the sidewalk getting in the customers way?"

Tadashi pulled out his cell and cursed when he saw the time. 

"We're going to be late! Come on, bonehead!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Ow! Aunt Cass!" Hiro protested as she vigorously brushed his hair.

"Just hold still. We have to make you look at least a little presentable."

"With my hair?"

"I know! What is with it, anyway? I've never been able to get it to lie flat."

"And you're not going to in the next five minutes, either," Tadashi pointed out from where he was adjusting his collar in the mirror.

"Ugh! I give up!" Aunt Cass declared, throwing her hands up in the air and letting the brush slip while she was at it. Mochi let out a wail and bolted as his nap was rudely disturbed.

"I have heard several cries of pain from this location. How may I assist you?" Baymax suddenly said, sticking his head past the stairs he'd apparently been slowly navigating.

"Oh, crap! Aunt Cass?" Tadashi said. 

"I'll hide him. Just go!"

"But I have not had a chance to look at the patient yet," Baymax protested as Aunt Cass tugged him back upstairs.

"Mochi's the only one who might be hurt but we'll have to find him first. Help me look," she told the robot.

"Of course," Baymax agreed. Then Hiro and Tadashi hurried down the stairs to where the camera crew was setting up in the otherwise closed café.

"Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Tadashi nodded and opened the door that separated their apartment from the downstairs shop, looking up as Aunt Cass suddenly rushed down the stairs to join them, giving them a thumbs up.

"I have him looking for Mochi in your bedroom. It should be safe for now," she whispered as they stepped through and closed the door behind them.

"Thank you for joining us," the female reporter, May or Mei or something like that, Hiro thought, stated as she held out her hand to shake theirs. They shook it and settled down on the chairs the camera crew had brought in for this.

"It's a lovely shop you own, by the way, but are you sure you want to close it down for this? You must be losing business. We could've set up in your living room."

"Pfft. In that cramped space? No, this is alright. My help is all right here anyway," Aunt Cass insisted.

"Alright. Thank you so much for this opportunity, by the way. Honestly, most people don't take me seriously, so getting this exclusive means a lot to me."

"Really?" Tadashi stated with a perfect poker face while Hiro and Aunt Cass grinned nervously because they had, after much debate, decided on this lady precisely because they thought they'd be able to slip stuff past her.

"Yep. It's a dog-eat-dog world in journalism. Anyway, let's get started, shall we? Camera ready?"

"We're rolling," the cameraman replied.

"Great. Hello viewers. Mai Rogers here, doing an exclusive interview with teen genius Hiro Hamada in his family home. Hiro, everyone says that the tech used in the Krei Tech incident earlier this week was created by you. Is this true?"

"Uh..." Hiro shot his aunt and big brother a nervous look. They both both smiled encouragingly back, Tadashi nodding as well and making a 'go on' gesture.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Well, the microbots. That portal was something else. Kind of scary, really." He'd actually had a few nightmares about all or none of them making it back through in time. He suspected Tadashi did too.

"The amount of damage it did was rather alarming," Mai agreed before moving on. "So your tech was what was supporting the portal and what Robert Callaghan was using to attack people?"

Hiro winced and nodded.

"Yeah, but I didn't make them for that purpose. I hadn't really thought about all the ways they could be used for... that aren't so good," Hiro said. There was no way he was saying 'evil'. That was too Fred. Mai nodded at him.

"How did Robert Callaghan get a hold of your tech anyway, Hiro?"

"Well, I made them for the SFIT showcase. My big brother Tadashi goes there and he showed me his lab and I just had to get in too. I did, obviously," Hiro stated, tugging on the SFIT hoodie Mai had insisted on him wearing for the interview. "Anyway, the evening of the showcase, the exposition hall caught on fire. We, uh, assumed the microbots and Callaghan were lost to the fire, especially after it exploded."

"Alistair Krei has mentioned in interviews that your older brother was hurt in that fire," Mai pressed. Hiro forced his fists to unclench even as he ducked his head to help hide his expression.

"Yeah." That was another thing featured in his nightmares; the number of times Tadashi had nearly died because of Professor Callaghan's actions. Mai gave him a sympathetic look even as she pried harder.

"You must be terribly upset with Robert Callaghan, what with him stealing your... microbots, was it? ...stealing your microbots and your brother getting hurt because of his actions."

"I... look, can we just talk about something else?" Hiro asked even as Tadashi, a worried look on his face, nodded.

"Well-"

A loud thump from upstairs interrupted whatever Mai was going to say.

"What was that?" Mai asked even as she and the cameraman looked up and the family exchanged glances because they had a pretty good idea of exactly what - or, rather, who - that was.

"Mochi!" Aunt Cass quickly improvised. "He's always getting into things. I, uh, better go see what that darn cat is up to." With that, she quickly squeezed herself into the stairs, closing the door behind her. Tadashi moved to follow, but Hiro cast him a desperate look and mouthed, 'Help me!' while the reporter and cameraman were distracted by Aunt Cass's exit. Tadashi stopped with a nod, his new position keeping him out of the line of the camera but where Hiro could see him by looking just past Mai.

"We'll have to edit this part," Mai muttered before turning to Hiro and flashing him a bright smile. "Where were we? Oh, yes! Eye-witness reports, as well as some video taken from a distance, place seven strange individuals at the scene of the Krei Tech incident. By all accounts, they were the heroes of the hour, but one of them took your microbots with him when he left the scene... well, the ones that weren't broken, that is. How do you feel about that? How did they even gain control of them anyway?"

And that was why they'd chosen her. While Mai was certainly asking the right questions, her rapid-fire delivery made it difficult to properly answer them. This rather poor interviewing skill was no doubt why she was looked down upon by her fellow reporters, but it worked in Hiro's favor as he could appear to answer without giving anything away.

"Oh, um, he actually came to me before the incident. The Big Heroes - um, that's what they call themselves-" Well, what they'd tentatively agreed to over video chat after turning down Fred's Angels, the Mighty Masters, and a dozen other team names suggested by Fred. "And they apparently found out someone was making my microbots in an abandoned warehouse by the docks. They recognized the tech from the showcase, so they came to ask if there was a way to stop them from being misused."

"Really?" Mai asked excitedly. "You've met them?!"

"Well, one of them. The one in the white and, before you ask, I never saw him without his helmet on. He called himself White Knight, though," Hiro stated, ignoring the way Tadashi was vigorously shaking his head while grimacing and making an 'X' gesture with his arms.

"White Knight?"

"Yeah, it's kind of a lame name but, if he wants to call himself that, who am I to stop him?" Hiro stated in his best blasé tone, which was harder to pull off than normal because Tadashi was making strangling gestures at him behind the reporter's back.

"Did you learn any other names?" Mai asked as she leaned in eagerly.

"Well..."

Tadashi making a furious throat-cutting gesture stopped him from going any further and using some of the other names Fred had suggested. Fred would be so disappointed.

"No, not really."

"Not really?" Mai prompted.

"Well, I thought I heard White Knight calling someone Fredzilla once when he was talking to the others over a phone, but I could be wrong." There. That ought to make Fred happy. Tadashi was face-palming, though.

The interview continued on with only one brief hitch after that.

"So the microbots are controlled by ESP?" Mai asked in confusion.

"No, not exactly," Hiro replied, frustrated.

"It requires a neurotransmitter," Tadashi prompted as he stood beside his brother, having been coerced into joining his brother on camera earlier on.

"Neurocranial transmitter," Hiro corrected since this was going to be on TV and the device basically translated actual neurotransmitters into a different language so the microbots would move.

"NCT," Tadashi compromised even as he stepped on Hiro's foot before he could argue any more.

"It's so great seeing two brothers who obviously love and care for each other so much," the reporter gushed.

"Oh yeah, that's us," Hiro agreed even as he subtly buried his elbow into Tadashi's side in retaliation for the other purposely standing on his foot. Tadashi's smile turned a bit pained.

"Well, there you have it folks! A lovely family and some juicy information on our mysterious heroes! All in a day's work for Mai Rogers! See you next time!"

The cameraman gave them a thumbs up as the camera stopped rolling before he moved to start packing up.

"Thanks again for this," Mai said as the crew waiting outside came in to take what they'd brought in and put things back into order.

"No problem," Hiro said.

"It was lovely to have you," Tadashi added.

"I hope your aunt's alright. She never came back down."

"Oh, she's, uh, camera shy. She's probably cuddling Mochi and waiting for everyone to leave."

"Ah. Well, it was nice meeting you. And if you hear anything else about White Knight or the others..." Mai said, pressing a card into Hiro's hands before calling, "Ja ne!"

The door to the café slammed shut soon after, leaving the boys alone.

"I'm stuck with it," Tadashi lamented. "I can't believe it. I'm stuck with that stupid nickname and it's all your fault!"

"At least your name isn't Fredzilla," Hiro said. Tadashi paused in his rant and tilted his head.

"Point. I'm still going to kill you."

"What? What are you doing with that? Tadashi? Wah!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Are you completely certain those are not cries of distress?" Baymax asked from where Aunt Cass had seated him on the couch after he'd determined Mochi was unhurt, merely distressed. The cat currently purred in his lap as Baymax absently stroked him in order to alleviate the cat's stress.

"Oh, trust me. That's just my boys being boys."

There was a loud crash followed by sudden silence downstairs.

"You have thirty seconds before I come down there!" Aunt Cass shouted. Immediately, the sounds of furtive cleaning followed.

"See? They're fine."

"I shall bow to your superior knowledge," Baymax stated before giving as much of a bow as he could manage without unseating Mochi from his lap.

"Good. Now about that massage programming you mentioned..."

And outside of the little house and café, the city of San Fransokyo kept moving.

FIN

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Mandelbulb is a 3-dimensional representation of a Mandelbrot set. I highly recommend doing an image search on the term. :)
> 
> I realized after publishing chapter two that Hiro actually does call the headband a "neurocranial transmitter" in the movie, which makes sense because neurotransmitters are actually produced by the body and are related to human emotions. Serotonin, for example, is believed to be related to happiness while norepinephrine is related to the fight-or-flight response. However, thinking about neurotransmitters has caused a bit of a headcanon that you may have noticed. Mainly, I believe people - aside from Hiro, who designed them and knows exactly how to control them - have better luck using the microbots while in an emotional state. This seems to be backed up in the movie because the microbots take on sharper edges and look more chaotic when a rage-fueled Callaghan uses them versus the pretty patterns they take when Hiro controlled them at the showcase.
> 
> Also, I don't know how many of you noticed, but I started hinting at Tadashi's low self-esteem back in the hospital scene first chapter and have been slowly revealing exactly how far it goes. Honestly, he's got a bit of a martyr complex - in that he's a little too willing to martyr himself - even if he hasn't quite realized it himself. And while this story is done, the series has just begun. I have plans, including showing what happens when Tadashi's martyr complex runs afoul of Hiro's burgeoning protector complex.


End file.
